more or less

I’ve got a couple of couple of busy months coming up – I’m going to be attending one conference and speaking at three others.

SharePoint Saturday Charlotte – Sept. 17, 2016

I attended my first very SharePoint Saturday in 2010, which was in Charlotte, just a couple of months before we moved to Charlotte. It was a great event and I’ve attended nine SharePoint Saturdays (presented at half of them), so this year’s SharePoint Saturday Charlotte will be my tenth SharePoint Saturday!

Starting last year, I volunteered to help organize it. I had a sense of how much work these events are to put together after attending and speaking at some, but it wasn’t until I volunteered that I got a much more accurate picture of the huge amount of work they are. My contribution is minimal compared with the effort others have put in, so this is more a thank you to them than a pat on the back for myself!

Microsoft Ignite – Atlanta, Sept. 26-30, 2016

Ignite is shaping up to be a huge conference, not only for Microsoft in general, but SharePoint in particular. I’m really excited that I get to attend. I got a chance to go to the Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2012 in Las Vegas, which was a big conference, but Ignite is going to have twice the number of attendees. Plus, I never got to attend TechEd, which Ignite also replaced.

I’m looking to hear what Microsoft says about the future of forms and workflows in SharePoint, in particular, the story about replacing InfoPath and SharePoint Designer workflows. I think PowerApps and Flows are the answer, but from what little I’ve seen, I don’t think they fully replace those older technologies yet.

The Building a Better Intranet Workshop – Oct. 3-4, 2016

SharePoint Engage – Raleigh, November 2-3, 2016

I found this conference when I was randomly searching for SharePoint conferences in the area last year. I submitted to speak on a lark and I was chosen! Boy am I glad I did. The two day conference last fall in Raleigh was great – well organized and executed for both speakers and attendees.